To Ra'bbet. v.a. [rabatre, raboter, Fr.] To pare down pieces of wood so as to fit one another.

The rabbet plane is to cut part of the upper edge of a board straight or square down, that the edge of another board, cut down in the same manner, may join into the square of the first; and this lapping over of two boards is called rabbeting.Moxon's Mechanical Exercises.

The window frame hath every one of its lights rabbetted on its outside about half an inch into the frame, and all these rabbets, but that on the ground-fell, are groved square.Moxon's Mechanical Exercises.

Cite this page: Johnson, Samuel. "Rabbet (verb)." A Dictionary of the English Language: A Digital Edition of the 1755 Classic by Samuel Johnson. Edited by Brandi Besalke. Last modified: January 30, 2014. http://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/?p=2400.

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